Fresh Omicron cases in Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat take India's tally to 87

Bengaluru/New Delhi: The countrywide tally of the Omicron infection rose to 83 on Friday after Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat recorded ten fresh cases.

As per reports from the health departments, Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat reported five, four and one fresh cases of the Omicron variant to take the total to eight, ten and five respectively.

In the meantime, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the country and the preparedness of the health infrastructure of all Union territories.

Till now, the variant has been detected in Maharashtra, having the highest number of cases (32). The state is followed by Rajasthan (17), Delhi (10), Karnataka (8), Telangana (6), Kerala (5), Gujarat (5), Andhra Pradesh (1), West Bengal (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and Chandigarh (1).

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said five more cases of the Omicron variant were detected in the state to take its tally of the new strain to eight.

"Five more cases of Omicron have been detected in Karnataka today: 19 yr male returning from UK, 36 yr male returning from Delhi, 70 yr female returning from Delhi, 52 yr male returning from Nigeria, 33 yr male returning from South Africa," Mr Sudhakar tweeted.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the Omicron variant was detected in 10 people so far in the national capital and none of them has developed "severe" disease. The minister said many international travellers are turning out COVID positive upon arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

In Kerala, Health Minister Veena George said those who have come from abroad and have been asked to practice self-observation, as per central government guidelines, should not be complacent in doing so.

The minister, at a high level meeting, said such persons should avoid social interactions, crowded places, theatres and malls and should wear an N-95 mask if they go out, according to a state government release.

The decision was taken after a person who had come from Congo, a non-high risk African nation, tested positive for Omicron and now has a large contact list as he went to shopping malls and restaurants instead of practicing self-observation.

In Gujarat, a 41-year-old woman health worker was found infected with the Omicron variant at a village in Vijapur tehsil of Mehsana district on Thursday. "The woman serves as an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA). She does not have any history of foreign travel, but she recently came in contact with her relatives who had arrived from Zimbabwe, one of the 'at risk' countries," Chief District Health Officer Dr Vishnubhai Patel said.

She is currently undergoing treatment in an isolation ward created in a government hospital at Vadnagar town of Mehsana and her condition is stable, he said.

The country's first two Omicron cases-- a South African national who has left the country, and the other a local person, a Doctor with no travel history-- were detected in Bengaluru.